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Riley Leonard shines as No. 17 Notre Dame crushes Miami (Ohio)

NCAA Football: Miami (OH) at Notre DameSeptember 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs for a touchdown while Miami Redhawks linebacker Matt Salopek (15) defends during the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Photo Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Quarterback Riley Leonard accounted for 297 yards of offense and three touchdowns, and No. 17 Notre Dame pulled away from Miami (Ohio) with a 28-3 win on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana.

Leonard completed 16 of 25 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame (3-1), which won its second straight game since a surprise loss to Northern Illinois. Leonard also carried the ball 12 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

Brett Gabbert completed 14 of 35 passes for 119 yards and two interceptions for Miami (Ohio), which is 0-3 this season. Cade McDonald caught four passes for 52 yards, making him the team's best player.

Notre Dame beat Miami (Ohio) 428-229. The Fighting Irish averaged 6.7 yards per play, while the RedHawks averaged just 3.6 yards per play.

The RedHawks opened the scoring with a 26-yard field goal by Dom Dzioban with 12:32 minutes left in the first half.

Notre Dame took a 7-3 lead with 3:33 left in the half. Leonard faked a handoff, kept the ball and evaded a few defenders for an 8-yard run.

The Fighting Irish struck again with 1:05 left in the first half to increase their lead to 14-3. Leonard threw a pass to Beaux Collins, who caught a 38-yard pass down the right sideline for his first touchdown of the season.

In the third quarter, Notre Dame relied on its running game to take a 21-3 lead. Jeremiyah Love scored on a 15-yard run to cap a seven-play, 60-yard run.

Leonard struck again with his legs in the fourth quarter, increasing Notre Dame's lead to 28-3. He kept the ball on fourth-and-1 and sprinted for a 50-yard touchdown to put the score out of reach with 5:39 left.

The play was Leonard's second touchdown of the afternoon and his sixth rushing touchdown in four games with Notre Dame. It also made Leonard the first Fighting Irish quarterback to eclipse 100 yards in consecutive games since Carlyle Holiday did it in 2001.

–Field level media

By Vanessa

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